Laser Tag?
by yesfangirlingismylife
Summary: Tris has never been the loud and sociable type. Never in her whole life. Every day, she kept to herself at school, and she was fine with that. She wasn't depressed or bullied, no. It was just who she was. They never noticed her in high school. But at their five-year reunion, then someone noticed. That someone just happened to be Tobias Eaton. *Three-part short story*
1. Chapter 1

**Laser Tag?**

The first part of this story is Tris in elementary school, and the second of two parts is the rest of her high school career. Hope you enjoy :)

 **-PRESENT (AGE 24)-**

Beatrice walks into her old high school gym. She's always hated that place. She wasn't bad at P.E., but athletics just weren't her thing. The gymnasium, brought up some old memories that weren't so pleasant. Others were very pleasant.

Tris looks around at all the decorations within the gym. The entirety of the giant room is filled with green and white everything. The gym is all green and white balloons, green and white streamers, green and white table covers… Everything.

She figured that she would be unnoticable with her black dress on, but all she got were stares. She is the only one wearing all black. Everyone else is dressed in bright and ebullient colors. She keeps her head down and found the punch table.

She fills her cup with the red punch, and begins to walk to a table. There were no empty ones, but there's one with only one person seated at it. Their jacket is around the chair, and the cup of punch is resting on the table. She presumes it was a man because of the jacket.

As she sets down her cup, a man stalks up to her table, sitting down at the chair with the jacket. Even though it's been years, she still recognizes his handsome face.

He didn't notice anyone sitting there until he looked up from his phone, but his mouth is now slightly ajar.

They stare at each other with small smiles on their faces.

And then the memories come flooding back not only to her, but to him too.

 **-SIXTH GRADE-**

Beatrice never disliked recess. She liked getting in her playing time in between books, but she was never big on the whole tag and monkey bars thing. She kept to herself as a young girl and even as a young adult. But in sixth grade she quiet mostly. There were a few incidents where she _did_ happen to converse with a boy in her grade. Beatrice never spoke to this boy after she graduated or even heard what happened to him, but through high school, he'd frequently give her a kind smile in the hallway when they passed and the occasional hi or hello. Tobias was his name.

At the time, Tris was in sixth grade when Tobias and she had their first conversation. It went a little like this:

 _Beatrice made her way to the library just as recess began, her book held close to her chest. The librarian, Mrs. Alder, always picked out what she thought would be good picks for her. The librarian was like her second mother for the short time she was in elementary school. Nobody understood her like Mrs. Alder did._

 _She rounded the corner into the library, then bumped into a larger built boy that was in her class._

 _Beatrice looked up to him and quietly said, "Excuse me."_

 _He replied, "No, you're okay. I'm Tobias."_

 _She kept her head down. "Nice to meet you."_

 _She attempted to walk past him, but he followed her into her safe haven._

 _Tobias said, "What's your name?"_

 _"Beatrice," she said. She didn't want to be rude, so she couldn't tell him to go away._

 _"I see you in here a lot. Do you like reading?"_

 _"Mhm," she responded._

 _"Let's be friends," he said suddenly. "Can we be friends?"_

 _She shrugged in reply._

 _"You should think about it. I guess I'll leave you alone now. Bye, Tris."_

 _"My name is Beatrice," she said adamantly. "Not Tris."_

 _"But I like Tris better," he simply stated. "It fits you." He walked away, swaying his arms without a care in the world._

 _"But it's Tris," she said softly, shaking her head._

 **-SEVENTH GRADE-**

In the seventh year of school, Beatrice was not disappointed that there was no more recess because it was the junior high. She took the advanced english class, which, in her opinion, was not very advanced at all. Mrs. Alder sent her up to the junior high school with good blessing and put a word in with that librarian. The JH librarian's name was Mrs. Dame. She was all right, according to Tris. Nothing special. She was always polite to her. Though when Tris came in during lunch to read and eat, Mrs. Dame would always have her boyfriend, Mr. Kahn, who taught regular english, in there talking. This made Tris get distracted easily, but she never stopped going. The library was her home, and she made it her mission to read every book. One day in the library, Tobias stumbled in while she was reading and Mrs. Dame was not in the room at the time. It was just Tris and Tobias.

Their conversation went a little like this:

 _Beatrice sat at the round table quietly enjoying her book. Though she was only in the seventh grade, she had already been reading a book called The Odyssey. She had good comprehension, but she knew it would be hard for her read._

 _"Wow," someone chirped behind her. "Big book you got there."_

 _She jumped in her seat and turned around to see the face of the person who'd spoken. She saw the boy that called her by the name of Tris last year._

 _"Oh," she said. "Yes. Quite large."_

 _"Why are you here?" he asked, unabashed._

 _She answered the question simply. "To read."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Because it makes you more knowledgable than anything else in the world."_

 _"Hm," he said. "Maybe I'll try that."_

 _She didn't reply, but he continued speaking._

 _"I'm in here because my teacher is making me get a book. Anything good?"_

 _"Yes," Tris said._

 _"Like what?"_

 _"Everything," she said simply._

 _"Anything specific. Maybe, like, horror? Or action? Oh, what about, like, a spy dude?"_

 _Tris stood and walking over to the B section. "Barnes," she said. "Jennifer Lynn Barnes. She wrote The Naturals. I think you will like it," Tris said, then handed him the book. "Now please. Leave me be to read my book."_

 _"Do I have to? Can I stay here and read with you?"_

 _"As long as you don't bother me. Okay?"_

 _He smiled. "Okay."_

 _Tris muttered, "Panglossian."_

 _"Palosstinginian?" he repeated. Or at least tried to repeat, that is._

 _"Panglossian," she reciprocated. "An overly positive person; viewed as too optimistic through tough times."_

 _"Opitistic?"_

 _"Optimistic." She chuckled, then explained. "Happy."_

 _"Oh," he said. "How do you know these words?"_

 _"My mom is an author. Very smart."_

 _"That sounds cool."_

 _"Yeah," she said. "It's pretty eminent."_

 _"Eminent?"_

 **-EIGHTH GRADE-**

Beatrice's life was pretty boring during the eighth grade. She was busy, busy, busy with reading and writing. She joined a writing club that'd done competitions at other schools. She'd frequently received a superior rating. One of the comps were at her home school at the junior high, and the audience was full of people she'd known that'd gone to her school.

One of those people was Tobias.

She wondered why he was there, Surely he had better things to do rather than see a bunch of nerds write some words on a piece of paper.

That day went a little like this:

 _Beatrice took her step on to the stage, preparing to write her heart out on that stage._

 _She sat down in a chair along with the other four contestants._

 _"Welcome to the Write On competition of Geller Junior High School. From the host school representing GJHS, Beatrice Prior."_

 _She waved and did nothing more. The announcements were the worst part of the entire comp._

 _She looked through the crowd as the announcer carried on. She spotted her mother, father, and brother, like usual. A few from her grade. But all the way in the front, in which she rarely looked there, there was a boy she recognized. His name was Tobias, if she remembered correctly. Yes, Tobias._

 _He noticed that she was looking at him, so he waved. She threw him a kind smile._

 _"Good luck" what was she believed he mouthed, then gave thumbs up._

 _Her smile grew a little bigger, so she looked away. She had to be serious up on that stage. She had to focus. No time for boys or family or school._

 _Just writing._

 _So when the announcer started the time, she wrote._

 _And write, she did._


	2. Chapter 2

**Laser Tag?**

Part 2 of 2. There may be a third bonus part... Only if you guys want one. If you like the ending the way it is here, let me know. If you need closure, I can post the third. Enjoy :)

 **-NINTH GRADE-**

In the ninth grade, Beatrice had hardly changed. Well, she'd gotten significantly hotter, but her personality hadn't changed in the slightest. Another thing that changed was that she made a friend. She never felt she needed anybody until she befriended Christina. Christina was from a different school in just the next district over, and she was a better friend than Tris could ever imagine. She never imagined having such an amazing friend in high school, but she kind of just… appeared into her life. Tris and Christina met at the local Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Tris was scouting out the newest young-adult fiction when a girl came up next to her and started looking at the books.

Tris's day went a little like this:

 _Beatrice stood in the YA Fic section of the book store. She scanned the rows of books saying in her head, "Read it, read it, read it, haven't read it, read it, haven't read, read it, read it…"_

 _She picked up a recently released book and began to read the summary._

 _"That's a great book," someone chirped. "I couldn't stop reading it."_

 _Beatrice turned her head to see a tall, tan-skinned girl with a pile of books against her chest._

 _"Sounds good," she said quietly._

 _"Her other books are exceptional also. My name's Christina. You?"_

 _"Beatrice." She continued reading the cover of the book._

 _"You like to read?"_

 _"Mhm."_

 _"Me too. Care to converse over a good novel at starbucks? I've got a car," she offered with a kind smile._

 _Beatrice didn't say anything for a moment. "Let me ask my parents. Why are you so quick to be friendly?"_

 _She shrugged. "I'm extremely shy, believe it or not. But I could tell you were too. You seem like a conversationalist about books. Plus I can tell you're not really good with people either."_

 _"How are you so good at reading people?" Beatrice asked inquisitively._

 _"A book can teach you so many different things. I learned it from a series called The Naturals. Great series. You should read it sometime."_

 _Beatrice smirked. "Already have."_

 _Christina laughed. "All right. I'll be here. Go ask your parents."_

 _Beatrice smiled, and then sauntered over to where her parents were observing the historical books._

 _"Hey, Mom, I met this girl over in my section… Her name's Christina. She wants to have a book discussion. This sounds weird, but can we go to Starbucks?" she laughed._

 _Natalie looked at Andrew with a hesitant visage._

 _"This is awfully unlike you… May I meet her?"_

 _She shrugged. "I suppose. Come this way."_

 _Beatrice led them over to where Christina was standing, her pile of books still stacked against her body. When Christina looked up, she blinked, then dropped her books._

 _"You… This isn't possible. You're Natalie Prior. You wrote my favorite series of… of all time. You're the reason I am who I am. Are you real? Are you actually here?" she asked with wide eyes._

 _Natalie nodded her head. "Indeed, Christina," she chuckled. "May I invite you over to my home? I make much better coffee than any Starbucks."_

 _Christina laughed, then looked at Beatrice, which made her laugh._

 _"My name is Beatrice Prior. Daughter of the author Natalie Prior and professor Andrew Prior. Christina, would you like to come over to my house?" Beatrice chuckled._

That was most likely one of the best days of Tris's life. She played the day over and over in her head again and again and she's never once regretted it. Never. Beatrice never had a friend before that day. Christina was more important than anybody in Beatrice's life, and the other way around for Christina. There was one thing that annoyed Beatrice:

The fact that Christina began to call her Tris. That boy… Tobias was his name, if Tris remembered correctly, called her that. She disliked it. She actually grew used to it because Christina was very adamant about calling her that. She acted like she hated it, but because Christina and Tobias called her, it began to grow on her.

 **-TENTH GRADE-**

Tenth grade was when Tris began writing her first novel. It was about high school, but with a twist. It involved angels, demons, things of the sorts. She worked on it nonstop. It made her happy. When she was writing, she could be herself.

Christina was writing this book with her, so they would frequently talk about it when they met for coffee twice during the week, then usually read or write together on the weekend. Tris usually did some revising on it and shared it with Christina, and she always approved and loved her new developments, and when Christina had a new idea, Tris usually supported it. They were perfectly matched.

One day, when Tris was typing the book on her laptop in study hall, Tobias came up to her.

It went a little like this:

 _"Watcha writin'?"_

 _Tris immediately closed her laptop. She never shared what she was writing, and neither did Christina. She wasn't expecting Tobias to come up to her so randomly. They shared the same study hall in the cafeteria, but he'd never spoken to her before._

 _"Doesn't concern you," she answered simply._

 _He smirked. "I stood behind you for an easy ten minutes reading what you write. You're so absorbed in it. It's a rarity to see that kind of inspiration and devotion these days. It was very well-written, and I definitely enjoyed it. When you finish it would you mind letting me read it?"_

 _"You can read it when it's on a shelf at Barnes & Noble Booksellers."_

 _He smirked. "Fair enough."_

 _Tris gave him a confident smile, then shrugged._

 _"It's Tris, right?"_

 _She chuckled. "Sure. That seems to be what everyone's calling me these days."_

 _"Well._ Tris _. I'm excited to buy and read it. See ya 'round." He winked, and then he sauntered off._

 _She rolled her eyes, opened her laptop, and began writing again._

 **-ELEVENTH GRADE-**

Tris began to get her life in order. She'd begun looking at colleges. She'd begun to think about how her life would turn out. She began to worry too. She began to worry about what it'd be like if her book was rejected in its publication appilication. If it had, she'd keep trying. No matter how many attempts it took. In fact, it took her mother seven attempts, and it ended up on the bestseller's list. Tris and Christina had only sent it to one publishing company, and it was last month. Typically it took three weeks for a publisher to get back to the author, so they were slightly concerned.

She notified her teachers that if she got a call to answer to company, she was stepping out to answer it. They were all okay with it, and they were all excited for her.

Third period, her phone buzzed against her thigh. No one ever called her. It had to be them.

Her call went a little like this:

 _Beatrice felt a buzz against her leg. Her eyes widened, and she fumbled for her iPhone._

 _When she pulled it out, it read "Harper Collins Publishing Co."_

 _She asked her english teacher in middle of a lecture, "Mrs. Lee. It's them."_

 _She grinned excitedly. "Go! Take it!"_

 _Beatrice nervously exited the classroom and entered the hallway._

 _"Hello?" she answered anxiously._

 _"Would this be Ms. Prior?"_

 _"Yes, indeed it is."_

 _"Hello, my name is Ian Steiner of Harper Collins. I have some news about your book,_ The Nirvana. _"_

 _"Thank you for calling. What might this news be?" she answered, crossing her fingers and squeezing her eyes shut, as if they were sowed that way._

 _"Very good. Very good news. We'd like to publish Christina White's and your book. It is equally contributed, correct?"_

 _"Yes, yes it is," Tris said, still unable to open her eyes. She was too excited. She could hardly contain herself._

 _"Fantastic. Just to give you an idea, the book should be published sometime next year, maybe Novemberish. I must say, for you only being eighteen, your work is astounding. Your mother has taught you well."_

 _"Actually," Tris said, "my mother wasn't involved in my reading or writing at all. Obviously she was happy I was into it, but she never bothered me about reading my material. Nobody has read the book besides myself, Christina, and you, Mr. Steiner. This really is an amazing opportunity though. Thank you so, so much."_

 _The publisher was smiling, Tris could tell. "All right. Well, I'm sure you're in class at the moment. I've notified Ms. White about the publication, just so you know."_

 _"Okay. Thank you so very much, Mr. Steiner," she said, tears puddling in her eyes._

 _"My pleasure. Good day, Ms. Prior."_

 _"You too."_

 _Tris stood in shock. She didn't know what to do. At eighteen, a junior and senior in high school (Tris started kindergarten a year late due to her mother's fame and travel and book signings, so she was a year behind; Tris was supposed to be a senior) getting their book published. That was astounding. Tris was amazed and proud of not only herself, but also Chris. She couldn't have done it without her. It'd have been impossible._

 _She opened her eyes, then dialed Christina's number._

 _"Tris," Christina answered. "We did it."_

 _She nodded, even though she knew Christina wouldn't see her. "We did it," she whispered._

 _And at the back of her mind, she thought,_ So Tobias _will_ get to read my book, after all.

 **-TWELFTH GRADE-**

Tris and Christina's book came out in mid-December of 2011. It was on the YA bestseller's list, and there was an article written about them in Goodreads and other media. Christina graduated from high school and continued on to Stanford. She could go anywhere she wanted. She published a _book._ The same went for Tris. When the book came out in December, that was when she graduated early to continue on to Oxford University in England. Tris left the U.S. for Uni, and she couldn't have been happier. After she and Christina were separated, they still kept in touch despite the ocean-wide stretch.

She wondered what Tobias thought of the book.

If he even read it.

Tris had a feeling he did. She hasn't talked to him since tenth grade, but there was always the occasional hello in the hallway.

She didn't regret anything in high school. She didn't have time for regrets. She couldn't afford that. Not in college. Not where she was. Everything was perfect. She regretted nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Well… Maybe one thing.

Tris wished she'd talked to Tobias a little more. She didn't want to be best friends like she was with Christina, but she wanted to be friends with him. If she had to regret anything, that would be it. She wished, just _wished_ , that she'd been friends with Tobias. But she couldn't change that. So she dealt with it. It was the way it was. Simple.

It was simple.

 **-PRESENT-**

Parts of these memories all cascade their way through her head. She's excited, nervous, and happy. Maybe a little terrified too.

"Tobias," she says with a chuckle. "It's nice to see you."

He slightly shakes his head. Obviously she knocked him out from his trance.

Tobias stands up, and so does Tris. He goes in for a hug, as did she.

"You look good, Tris," he whispers as they hug.

She smiled. "You too. Handsome as usual," she chuckles. "How are you?" She sits down in a chair next to his.

"I'm pretty good. I'm not going to ask you how you are, because, well, obviously you seem to do pretty well with yourself. You know, having published a book and all," he laughs.

She laughs a beautiful laugh. "Yes, you could say I've been doing all right. What are you doing these days?"

He shrugs. "Just going around… doing my thing."

"Doing your thing?" she chuckles. "What is 'your thing'?"

He shrugs yet again. "It's nerdy."

She laughs. "Tobias. I'm a damn writer, for God's sake. My job is literally being a nerd."

He shyly smiles at her. "I'm a director in market analysis for an organization called FLLC. Funding Local Libraries of Chicago. We're a non-profit organization that raises money for libraries to buy more books. Nerdy, right?"

She laughs. "I dig nerds."

He smirks at her and asks, "So where you livin' nowadays?"

"Oxford. I just finished up my degree there, and I'm moving back here to Chicago in about two weeks," she explains. "Though Oxford is beautiful, I don't know if I can handle any more British accents."

Tobias smiles. "Gotta love Chicago. I could never leave this place."

"I don't know how I did for four years. I miss this place."

"This is slightly irrelevant, but I read your book the day it came out. I went to find you, but someone told me you left for college earlier that week. I was kind of pissed, to be honest. I wanted to ask you if you were going to make a sequel, if you were going to continue writing, if Lilly ended up in Nirvana…," he rambles.

She smiles. "No, yes, yes."

He looks relieved, Tris notices. "That's been eating you up, hasn't it?" she asks.

He nods. "Indeed."

"So, anyway," he chuckles, "you married? Boyfriend? Hell, kids?"

"None of the above," she answers. "Yourself?"

"None of the above."

She smiles at this. "How can we pick up like old close friends, even though we hardly ever talked in high school?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I've imagined having a real conversation like this with you back in high school, but you were just always so shy," he chuckles. "Plus," he says, his face reddening, "I always did have the slightest crush on you."

Tris's eyebrows go up in surprise. "Really?"

He shyly smiles at her. "Yeah. I mean, I constantly tried to start a conversation with you, but you were always extremely shy and quiet."

She laughs. "I am, I will give you that. I may've come off as a little bit _too_ preserved, but more and more I found myself wanting you to start up conversation."

He grins at her. "Well. Here we are now. Would you like to converse elsewhere?"

She throws him a coy smile. "What do you mean by that?"

He chuckles and says, "You want to get out of here?"

"Tobias," she laughs, "I've been here all of about twenty minutes."

"What's your point?" he asks. "Somehow, nobody notices you—just like high school—even though you look stunning."

She blushes. "Well people seem to be noticing you."

"Because I was football jock. Because they noticed me _back then_. None of that matters. What matters is that we're here, now, at this shitty high school reunion"—Tris laughs as he says that—"and that anything else would be better than this."

She mischievously smiles. "What'd you have in mind?"

Tobias copies Tris's smile. "What are your thoughts on Laser Tag?"


	3. Chapter 3

Laser Tag?

 _So this is actually the last part now... Hope you liked it :)_

 **-PRESENT-**

"Laser Tag?"

Tobias shrugs with an adorable smile. "Why not?"

Tris stands, grabs her clutch, and throws a flirtatious smirk at Tobias. "Let's go."

That was the last thing she expected herself to do. She did not frequent herself with leaving with random—well, not _random_ , but guys she doesn't know too much about. She has never acted so spontaneously. She didn't know what was happening. But all she had to do was let her body take over and not think about it. It was how she wrote. So she figured, _why not be the character in the book and not the author?_

He stands up too, grinning his handsome grin. "Did you take a taxi from your hotel?"

"Yeah. You got a car?"

"Well," he says, "something like that." He winks.

Tris and Tobias walk out together, side by side, and, even though they get stares, they walk out confidently.

"Hope you're all right with wearing those wedges to laser tag," he says with a chuckle.

"I should be fine," she shrugs. "I'm a tuffy."

He laughs. "I believe the correct term is _stubborn,_ " he says.

Lightly, Tris smacks his arm. "Only a little."

They stop in front of a motorcycle, and Tobias hands her the only helmet.

"A motorcycle," she says with a growing smile. "Jesus."

"Are you afraid of motorcycles?" he asks, genuinely concerned. "I can call a—"

She chuckles, interrupting him. "No, Tobias. It's not that I'm afraid. I mean… Maybe a little. But that's not what I said Jesus about. I said it because A) You're a book nerd, B) You're… well, let's just say you're not ugly,"—at this, Tobias laughs—"and C) You drive a motorcycle. You're like a perfect guy all wrapped into one. I feel like a need to poke you just to make sure you're real," she laughs shakily.

He smiles. "If you think _I'm_ perfect, you should see my dog."

"Is that an invitation?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as I put the helmet on.

He gets on the motorcycle. "Only if you want it to be," he says coyly.

She smiles and points to the helmet. It was one without a visor and had nothing covering the mouth. "Do I look like a badass?"

He laughs. "Definitely. Now hop on. It's time for me to kick your ass at some Laser Tag."

She does as told, and wraps her arms around his waist. "I seriously doubt that, Eaton," she softly says in his ear, "but we'll see."

He revs his motorcycle, and then spins off. He heads toward the local game center with old school arcade games, go-carts,mini-golf, and laser tag arena.

When they arrive, it's busy, but not too busy. They buy all-around passes for the whole place, so they can do anything they want.

But first things first:

Tris had to go and kick some ass at laser tag.

* * *

"I totally kicked your fine ass!" Tobias yells as the beeper screams, telling them their time is out.

Tris scoffs. "First of all, I know I have a fine ass, and second, I totally kicked _your_ fine ass!"

He smirks. "The truth shall reveal all."

She harrumphs. "Okay, Mr. Philosophy."

They walk into the room of vests and put them on the racks. When they step outside, the TV screen shows the two scores.

4: 76 hits on 6

6: 82 hits on 4

"No," Tobias says in a whisper. "Impossible. I've never lost at laser tag. Never in my life. I can't… I can't _believe_ this."

"Better believe it, honey. 'Cause I just hardcore dominated you at laser tag," she says with a shit-eating devilish smirk.

"Why six?" he asks, still pouting.

"One of my books had gotten rejected in its publications six times. It reminds me not to give up."

He smiles. "You're weird."

She laughs out of surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You're weird," he repeats simply with a kind-hearted smile.

"Usually I'd take that as a compliment," she says, "but coming from you I don't know what to say."

He laughs. "It's a good thing. I promise."

She smiles at him. "Where to next?"

"You hungry? I could use a hot dog or cotton candy," he suggests.

"Sure. A stick of cotton candy doesn't sound too bad."

As they wait in line, Tris takes out her hairdo and says, "Sweet Jesus, this hair needs to be chopped off."

At this, Tobias smiles. "You wouldn't chop off your hair. I won't let you. Long hair looks too good on you."

She slightly blushes, but says, "Yeah right. I should just chop it all off when I go back to England and then come back with short hair. How would you feel about that?" she asks with a nudge.

"I don't think I'd be able to see you again."

She throws her hair up into a messy bun, which she makes look good, and says, "Well who says _I_ want to see you again?"

"Shut up. I know you want me."

Tris laughs. "Ha. Cute."

He smirks. "No, that's you."

"Well," Tris says flirtatiously, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were flirting, Mr. Eaton."

"Well," Tobias says in the same tone, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were begging me to flirt, Ms. Prior."

She smirks, then struts up to the counter where she can buy her cotton candy.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't know Tobias was checking her out. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't okay with it. She'd be lying if she said she wouldn't miss him over the next two weeks. And she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to go on another—well, technically her first—date with him.

"I've got it," Tobias says. "Man's always got to pay on the first date."

She chuckles and takes her swirled blue and pink cotton candy. "Thank you. But who said this was a date?"

"I did," he says candidly as he takes his hot dog.

"Who said there's going to be a second date?"

"I think we can both agree that it's what the two of us were thinking," Tobias says, munching his hot dog.

Tris takes a bite of fluffy sugar as she says, "I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout." That's what happens when she talks with her mouth full.

All Tobias did was laugh. He didn't laugh _at_ her, but _with_ her. They're laughing at the situation and the way things are.

They stand over by the almost-empty arcade games. Everyone is riding go-carts and playing laser tag and mini-golf before it all closes. The arcade is open later, which is why everyone will be back again.

Tris leans up against the Pac-Man machine as Tobias takes the last bite of his hot dog, then throws the wrapper away in the nearest trash bin. He, of course, recycled the plastic container. Tris wonders if Tobias really exists, or if she is just imagining this entire night. The former rather than the latter would be good.

Tobias saunters back just as Tris has a mouthful of cotton candy. She has chipmunk cheeks, and says, barely comprehendible, "Hi."

He stands there, smirking and staring at her like if he looked away, she'd be gone forever.

"You know," she says, plucking a piece of cotton candy off the stick, "maybe if you didn't check me out so blatantly then I'd offer some of my cotton candy."

He laughs and looks away with red cheeks. "Damn, and I thought you were shy."

She shrugs. "I'm not shy around people I'm comfortable with."

Tobias smiles. "I like this. You know. What we have. It's kind of awesome."

"And what is it you think we have, Eaton?" she asks inquisitively.

He takes one step closer, trapping her against the Pac-Man machine, his arm up beside her head.

Tobias slowly leans in, and Tris doesn't move a muscle. She's shocked. She was too astonished to react. Her eyes freeze open, like she's unable to close them. When his lips touch hers, though, she melts. Her eyes close, her lips seem to know how to operate, and she seems to cede into him. She wraps her arms around his neck, and then she pulls him closer.

But then, he pulls back an inch, away from her lips, and leaves her longing for more.

 _"That,"_ he says, "is what I think we have."

She grins, but doesn't reply to what he said. With a shit-eating grin, all she says is, "What are your thoughts on mini-golf?"


End file.
